George Russell 'surprised' to get between the two McLarens

As much as we expected both McLaren, Ferrari de Lewis Hamilton or the Red Bull de Max Verstappen on the front row of the Chinese Grand Prix, this was not necessarily the case for the Mercedes by George Russell.

In a weekend where the German manufacturer is still experiencing some difficulties in getting its tires up to speed, particularly with regard to the softer ones, the Briton has the right solution at the right time, coming in between the McLarens ofOscar piastri et Lando Norris.

« I've been working on my tire setup to get everything working and it was completely different on my last lap, revealed Russell after the session. The car suddenly came to life. It's great to be second. »

« Sometimes I was fast on my pit lap, other times I was slower. It was a bit of a gamble on the last attempt, but everything lined up. I was quite surprised to be between the two McLarens when I crossed the finish line. I'm looking forward to tomorrow (Sunday). »

For the race, the drivers should expect very high tire degradation, as was the case this Saturday morning during the Sprint won by Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari).

« This is going to be difficult, confirms Russell. It was complicated with the medium tire during the Sprint. It's probably the rubber that will be used at the start tomorrow, as for the harder tread, no one tested it this weekend. We'll try to do our best and stay where we are, or even gain a place! »

The Chinese Grand Prix will start this Sunday at 8:00 a.m. (French time).

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